The Influence Paradox: How Giving Up Control Can Give You Sway, with Dr. Emily Kline

You’ve probably heard me (and many of my guests) talk about letting go of the idea that you can control your teen or young adult child. This is so hard to do, for obvious reasons, and parents who struggle with this have some valid questions like; Isn’t it our job to protect our kids? If I stop confronting the problems, isn’t that just avoidance? How is this different from just giving up? My guest today says that these questions are missing an important paradox: The more we sacrifice controlling behavior, the more opportunity we have to gain real influence – especially using skills like Motivational Interviewing.